Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has condemned the notion that the Igbo should be denied the presidency for attempting to secede from Nigeria, arguing that all three major ethnic groups have, at some point, tried to break away from the country.
Obasanjo expressed dismay over the recurring sentiment that no Igbo person should lead Nigeria due to their involvement in the January 15, 1966 coup, which disrupted the First Republic.
He noted that attempts to secede have occurred across various regions of the country, not just among the Igbo.
Speaking during a meeting with a 20-member delegation from the League of Northern Democrats, led by former Kano State Governor Ibrahim Shekarau, at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, Obasanjo recalled the Northern region’s effort to secede, known as the Araba movement.
“I think all of us in Nigeria have to rethink… It bleeds my heart when people say because the Igbo had carried out a secession, an Igbo man cannot be the president of Nigeria. I say what nonsense? There is no section of Nigeria that has not planned a secession. What is ‘Araba’ in the North? The North planned to break up Nigeria. Ahmed Jooda, a very good friend of mine, said that,” Obasanjo said.
He further questioned, “What is treasonable felony? So, who among us can say I am better than the other? None! So, let us put our heads together and build a country together.”
Obasanjo also noted the concerns raised by the League of Northern Democrats, pledging his support if the group maintained a national outlook, instead of a regional or provincial focus.
